Lucky-Con 2013!

Today's post will be about my experience at Lucky-Con 2013! Enjoy!

                   My friend Ari (left) and me (right) in our co-ords for the con.

 

             

              My accessories: Ari took this shot after I bought the cute wrist cuffs from a trader at the con! They were good value for £6 - be sure to check out their online store:http://www.stockingshock.co.uk/

We were a little late to the con (my fault for having packages to pick up beforehand!) And when we got there we checked out the trader room. There were a lot less traders than last year which was a shame - although I'm sure my wallet was thankful! As well as Stocking Shock selling their cute handmade lolita accessories there was an anime/manga merch stall, a Japanese candy stall -Yay! I finally got strawberry Pocky! - a badge stall, an artist's craft stall, a photography stall and a trader selling awesome video game inspired footwear.

Ari looked super kawaii in her Bittersweet co-ord!

Yay, finally got my Pocky!

                                           

Quite a few people were in attendance at the con, here are just a few of them.

What time is it? Adventure Time!

 

 

 

 A great thing about the convention is that although it's small, run by a great group of volunteers and charges a reasonable price for tickets, all the money they make at the human auction ( a fun event where attendees bid for the company of the participants for the day), goes to the charity Aid for Japan, who offer respite and much-needed help to those who were affected by the recent Tsunami. Even now, years after the disaster many are left bereft of family members and many children were made orphaned in the wake of the earthquake.

 Akemi Solloway works with the charity to offer help and trips to the UK for young people who are traumatised by the tsunami. She showed a video of a girl who she helped after she lost her parents and sibling, and it was nice to see the other attendees giving something back to the country who's culture they admire so much. The human auction made over £400 for the charity which, for such a small convention, is an amazing achievement. It really warmed my heart to see those who could bidding £20 or more during the auction. It's definitely money well spent.

 

There was some amazing cosplaying going on at Lucky-Con this year. A lot of people had put a ton of effort into their outfits - some even making them by hand- which is really nice to see, especially at such a relatively small convention. 

Check out this ingenious Steve cosplay from Minecraft.

Sorry for the incoming out of focus shots - my mum's camera is old and unreliable - next time I'm definitely taking my beast Fuji instead!

The above cosplay (Jack the Faun) rightfully won the handmade cosplay competition. The amount of work and detail that went into the outfit and the make up was incredible.

 A selection of Vocaloids and Hello Kitty were also in attendance!

                          Everyone in the competition looked fabulous, there were some really original character choices this year.

After all that, there was time for some delicious ramen. The noodle shop worked out really well and was a new idea for this year - I'm pretty sure all the noodles sold out! Hmm I could go for some right now actually...

The convention offers many events throughout the day, including the aforementioned human auction, video game tournaments, a quiz, talks on Japanese culture and hobbies, cosplay competitions, karaoke and a disco and much more. Lucky-con was a hit again this year, and I estimate that it's popularity and amenities will only grow in the years to come, and I hope to be there to witness it myself!  Thanks to everyone who helped put the event together, and I'll see you next year! 

Sayonara gozaimasu!